Fantasy game system and method

ABSTRACT

An on-line, multi-player internet based application that is adapted for playing fantasy sports, for example, football in which scoring is determined on a team functional unit basis rather than on an individual player basis, with a pre-determined set of actions associated with each fantasy team functional unit, pre-determined values associated with each such action, and corresponding actions from real-life football team functional units resulting from real-life football games used to determine fantasy football team unit values, fantasy football team scores and fantasy football league rankings.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.12/693,430, filed Jan. 25, 2010, and claims the benefit of applicationSer. No. 12/693,430, (“the '430 application”) filed Jan. 25, 2010,application 61/206,381 (“the '381 application”) filed Jan. 30, 2009, andapplication 61/286,931 (“the '931 application”), filed Dec. 16, 2009,and all three of which are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates generally to a computer implemented, on-line,multi-player internet-based fantasy sport system, method for formingfantasy teams in which each team is associated with units from an actualsport that is played over a multiple-game schedule, and method ofplaying fantasy sports, with preferred applications for simulatedfootball games of the type commonly referred to as “fantasy football”.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Numerous versions of on-line fantasy football systems and methods areknown. Most, if not all known games and systems are directed to scoringtouchdowns and to players with big names, agents and high dollar valuecontracts. Such games, methods and systems are not directed to otheraspects of the game of football that are critical in real-live footballgames, such as the offensive team units and players that keep drivesalive, move the ball down the field and put their teams in a position toscore and win, and corresponding defensive team units. These aspects ofthe game of football are often referred to as the “trenches” due to thehard fought, but unglamorous nature of the fighting. For footballapplications the units and players that are engaged in the trenches arethe offensive lines, defensive lines, punting squads, kickoff teams,placekicking units, defensive secondary and returns specialists. Asdescribed in the '381 application, the '931 application and the '430application methods are provided for game play that takes into accountthese units, players and aspects of the game. Described below arepreferred embodiments and designs for an on-line fantasy football systemfurther adapted for the methods provided in the aforementionedapplications, and for other team sports. For example, described hereinis a preferred system in which specific pre-designated events or actionstaken by the team units are assigned values and by these values andactual, real-life play of related real-life team units, the overallfantasy gaming experience is enhanced in comparison to conventionalfantasy football applications. Preferred system architecture and relateddescriptions are provided herein.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Fantasy sports and fantasy football in particular allow a person to actas a virtual “general manager” or “team owner” of a respective fantasysport team. For trench fantasy, also sometimes referred to simply as“trench” each trench fantasy team is populated with fantasy units whereeach fantasy unit corresponds to a real-life functional unitparticipating in a real-life game. The statistics generated by thereal-life units are transformed into trench fantasy points whereby thetrench points reflect the game event impact on the actual game outcome.Trench fantasy points are assigned to each fantasy team according to analgorithm that includes pre-determined values for specific unit eventsor actions, and application of those values to corresponding events oractions as they occur in real-life games. These fantasy points may thenbe used to calculate fantasy team scores for each fantasy football team.

In real-life football as well as its conventional fantasy counterpart,the typical focus is on the individual players who are the offensivestars. However, unit play across all available positions has atremendous influence on the outcome of a real-life football games anddrives the success or failure of the individual offensive stars.Therefore, it is desirable to have a fantasy football game with a focuson units in the trenches that account for or contribute verysignificantly to actual success or failure on the field.

The systems and methods described herein relate generally to all fantasysports games, i.e., to team sports wherein the teams include specificfunctional units. More specifically, several preferred applicationsdescribed herein relate to fantasy football systems and methods wherebyunits and unit play are valued instead of individual play. As aconsequence the score for a trench fantasy team is derived from mostaspects of the real-life game on offense, defense and special teamswhich contribute to the real-life game result. For the purposes of thepresent description, the term “unit” refers to a particular part orfunctional unit of an overall team, such as a particular position, forexample a place kicker, or a special team, such as the kick-offreceiving team, or a particular part of a team, such as the offensiveline, the defensive line, the defensive backfield, etc. It will beappreciated that analogous units may be formed from teams in other teamsports.

In one aspect disclosed herein is an on-line, multi-player internetbased application that is adapted for playing fantasy football in thetrenches, i.e., for playing fantasy football in a way that accounts forthe values associated with the contributions to the overall game made bythe special units and players who fight in the trenches, that is, thelinemen and special teams, and in some instances also accounts forvalues which individual players who perform specific actions such asscoring a touchdown, catching a pass resulting in a forward gains of apre-determined amount contribute to their respective unit.

In further detailed summary, preferred embodiments are fantasy sportsgame systems comprising:

-   -   one or more participant terminals on a network and operable for        a user to act as a league manager, commissioner or client such        as a team owner or team manager;    -   one or more computers operable to act as one or more servers on        the network and to communicate with each of the participant        terminals over the network, the computer(s) comprising:        -   memory configured to store a set of computer-implemented            instructions; and,        -   a processor and database configured to execute the set of            instructions, wherein the set of instructions adapted to            cause the processor to:            -   receive a set of trench fantasy football team starting                line-ups for the population of trench fantasy teams in a                trench fantasy football league, with valid line-ups                corresponds to one of the registered trench fantasy                teams, wherein each one of the valid trench fantasy                line-ups comprise a valid set of selected team units;            -   receive statistical information from corresponding team                units of real-life football teams for real-life football                games relating to each one of the units and perform a                trench fantasy transformation on the data thereby                creating a set of trench football statistics, a trench                ratings system and corresponding trench fantasy football                team unit point values;            -   calculate trench fantasy football team unit point totals                for each fantasy team unit based on the received                statistical information; and,            -   calculate a trench fantasy team score for each trench                fantasy team by adding together the team unit point                total for each of the team units associated with each                trench fantasy team.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and the attendant advantages of the presentinvention will become more readily appreciated by reference to thefollowing detailed description, when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings that are embedded in the text of thespecification, and each of which is briefly described with anappropriate legend, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of basic architecture of a first preferredembodiment of the present system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a preferred high level architecture forthe FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a new user sign up process for the FIG.1 embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an existing user log on process for theFIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a user message posting process for theFIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to join a publicleague in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to search for aspecific league in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to create a teamwithin a league in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to editinformation about a previously created team within a league in the FIG.1 embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to view theuser's team roster in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to add or drop aunit from the user's team roster in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to view theschedules for head to head and playoff matches within the user's leaguein the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to view news,notes, transactions and injury sections of the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to create and/oredit the starting line-up for the user's team in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to view theleader boards for the user's league in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to view leaguestatistics in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to view real timescoring in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to create aleague in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a process for a user to edit leaguerules in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a process for a commissioner to add auser to a league in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of a process for a commissioner to removea user from a league in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of a process for a commissioner to editand customize the way points are allocated within a league in the FIG. 1embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a process for a commissioner to definehead to head schedules and playoff schedules in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of a process for a commissioner to definecut-off dates for various deadlines in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of a process for a commissioner to sende-mails messages to team owners in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a process for a commissioner to viewrosters of all teams in a league in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIGS. 27A and 27B are schematic diagrams for preferred database designand functionality for the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 28 is a listing of examples of types of various offensive linestatistics that may be used in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 29 is a listing of examples of types of various defensive linestatistics that may be used in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 30 is a listing of examples of types of various field goal andpoint after touchdown statistics that may be used in the FIG. 1embodiment;

FIG. 31 is a listing of examples of types of various punting statisticsthat may be used in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 32 is a listing of examples of types of various miscellaneousdefensive statistics that may be used in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 33 is a listing of examples of types of various kick-off relatedstatistics that may be used in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 34 is a listing of examples of types of various scoring statisticsthat may be used in the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 35 is a schematic diagram of a preferred architecture for analternate preferred embodiment;

FIG. 36 is an example of a preferred value assignment for various eventsrelated to passing offensive line unit play for use in a preferredscoring algorithm for the FIG. 35 embodiment;

FIG. 37 is an example of a preferred value assignment for various eventsrelated to running offensive line unit play for use in a preferredscoring algorithm for the FIG. 35 embodiment;

FIG. 38 is an example of a preferred value assignment for various eventsrelated to the defensive line unit play for use in a preferred scoringalgorithm for the FIG. 35 embodiment;

FIG. 39 is an example of a preferred value assignment for various eventsrelated to the punting unit play for use in a preferred scoringalgorithm for the FIG. 35 embodiment;

FIG. 40 is an example of a preferred value assignment for various eventsrelated to the defensive secondary unit play for use in a preferredscoring algorithm for the FIG. 35 embodiment;

FIG. 41 is an example of a preferred value assignment for various eventsrelated to defensive special team units play for use in a preferredscoring algorithm for the FIG. 35 embodiment; and,

FIG. 42 is an example of a preferred value assignment for various eventsrelated to the kicking units play for use in a preferred scoringalgorithm for the FIG. 35 embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Set of Preferred Embodiments

A first set of preferred embodiments of the present fantasy footballsystem and methods are described herein with respect to FIGS. 1-34.These embodiments are preferably deployed as a web application for usein modern day internet browsers, such as Internet Explorer 7 or newer,Firefox 3 or newer. The user interface and front end preferably will bean ‘Adobe Flash’ movie embedded in html, thus allowing for a highquality user interface, rich user interaction and experience, andbecause it is compatible with all known modern browsers. Preferablybackend communication and processing tasks for the system and methodwill be handled using ‘PHP’ to communicate between the server and clientsides of the system. Also, all modern web hosting providers provide PHPcapabilities to their clients so their benefits are available to endusers by using a site hosted by the providers. The present fantasyfootball system preferably includes persistent data storage capability,which is believed to be achieved using one or more MySQL databases onthe server side. Flash, PHP and MySQL applications are preferablyemployed due to their readily availability and popularity. The systempreferably will also subscribe to a TSN SportsML feed to obtainstatistics and data needed for meet the functional requirements of thesystem.

System Overview

The larger sites like espn, cbs and yahoo, do not use flash for theirfantasy games. Flash is preferred for the GUI element of the presentsystem because flash offers a richer user experience and is believed toprovide additional differentiation of the present system fromconventional fantasy football systems.

Shown in FIG. 1 is an example of the preferred basic architecture forthe present system. The preferred system includes various preferredfunctional capabilities

Preferred Functional Capabilities

Preferred functionality of the system includes:

Support for a user to sign up/register to be able to play fantasyfootball using the preferred methods, herein after referred to as“Trench Fantasy”, as further described in the '381 application and the'931 application.

Support for an existing user to edit user information. Display a ‘Team’UI to a user where a user can handle any team related functionality.

Support the ability for a user (team owner) to create, edit, and update‘Teams’ and ‘Starting line-ups’ by providing functionality for a userto:

Create and edit a ‘Team Name’.

Create and edit ‘Team Motto’.

Create, customize and upload a ‘Team Logo’.

Create and upload a ‘Team Photo’.

Create, view, and manage a ‘Team Roster’.

Select and view Statistics/Results for a roster on a weekly or wholeseason basis.

Links to roster with opponents for all weeks of the season.

Create and edit a ‘Starting Line-up’ comprising 6 starters/team units

Compare ‘Starting Line-up’ with projected opponent (view Match-Up).

Propose, complete or cancel a ‘Trade’.

Add/Drop/Substitute players.

Establish, confirm password, security question, with this functionalityincluded under sign/up register support.

View Upcoming Weekly Match Ups with projected scoring.

View League-wide Player Performance info overall, by position, by team.Ability to view standout performers from previous week (teamunit/individual player/team owner).

Support the concept of a ‘Draft’ by providing functionality for a userto:

-   -   Draft a team unit/player to their team, with the user being a        Team Owner).    -   Create/Set up a draft by defining a draft date and draft type,        with the user being a Commissioner.    -   Choose between a live draft and an automated draft, with the        user being a Commissioner.    -   View pre-draft rankings for players/team units.    -   Create Draft Board with desired team by position (team owner).    -   Maintain real-time ‘needs’ for live draft (team owner).    -   Track draft summaries overall, by position, by team (team        owner).    -   Create and edit draft rosters for all teams (commissioner        non-live draft).

Display a ‘League’ UI to a user where a user can handle any leaguerelated functionality.

Support for the creation and storage of an unlimited number of‘Leagues’.

Support for a user to be able to join a ‘public league’ through a signup process pre-season to ‘join’ a group and individually during theseason to draft/compete weekly with ‘public’ of unlimited number ofteams.

Support the ability for a user (commissioner) to create and edit a‘League’ by providing functionality for a user to:

-   -   Create and edit a ‘League Name’.    -   Create and define a Commissioner for a league.    -   Define sharing of commissioner of duties (1×, few times,        always).    -   Define the number of teams in a league to be either 6, 8, 10, or        teams. (User is a Commissioner).    -   Record, store and edit information about teams in a league, with        the user being a Commissioner, who is able to add/remove after        creating.    -   Edit the rules of a league with the user being a Commissioner.    -   Edit the trade rules of a league with the user being a        Commissioner.    -   Set schedules and playoffs for a league with the user being a        Commissioner.    -   Either select default scoring or customize scoring for the        league.    -   Run scoring models based on league roster settings.    -   Edit player position eligibility with the user being a        Commissioner.    -   Control the roster for any team in the league for any week of        season with the user being a Commissioner.    -   Track transaction fees if applicable.    -   Able to select Hands off (default) or Custom league settings.    -   Able to invite team owners to join league.

Ability to process online monetary payments via pre-existing vendor.

Support the generation and dispatching of email notifications to systemusers, such as:

-   -   Send email notification to a user (team owner) when a public        league is filled.    -   Send email notification to a user (team owner) to include key        dates, top-line rules and draft logistics.    -   Send email notification to a user (team owner) as a reminder        that they have not updated that week.    -   Send email notification to a user (team owner) which concerns        off season updates, such as relevant news, transactions, trends        and so forth.    -   Send email notification to a user which confirms signup to the        system.    -   Send email notification to a user to invite that user to a        particular league.    -   Send email notification to a user which contains weekly result        information.    -   Send email notification to a user which contains trade notices.    -   Send weekly league news ‘League Performance’ email, for example,        who's up, down, questionable.    -   Ability to create a structured email via help forms.

Ability to subscribe to, and access information from a real time dataprovider for NFL sports statistics, news and schedules (SportsML) on aweekly basis.

Ability to track and report on real time information and/or statisticsrelating to performance, news, transactions, and updates of players/teamunits.

Ability to use internal scoring system along with real time data todetermine, track, and report on rankings of teams within a league.

Ability to use internal scoring system along with real time data todetermine and display live-scoring information to a user with regard tousers' weekly opponent and progress of all other league games.

Support for comparing different line-ups and simulating ‘what if’scenarios.

Support for message boards where a user can read or post messages.

Functionality to include video league content, such as from YouTube orother sources.

Ability to store and display information related to a FAQ section, rulesand scoring.

Ability to allow a user to access customer service channels.

Support for the generation and display of a ‘Leader Board’ using teamrankings, such as:

Leader board has ability to track overall leader.

Leader board has ability to track weekly leader.

Leader board has ability to track leader over some specified period.

Ability to accommodate multiple users concurrently.

Ability to post league news such as weekly summaries on a main leaguepage.

Ability to run hypothetical matchups to see results, if for exampleplayoffs started on a given day.

Ability to display user defined ‘hot or not’ statistics as well and userdefined power rankings.

Ability to display league game schedules with results for played games(by week, by team).

Ability to view NFL game schedules.

Ability to receive and display NFL transaction and injury logs.

Preferred Non-Functional Capabilities

Listed below or preferred non-functional features of the preferredsystem fantasy football system:

A high quality user interface as well as look and feel.

User interface should not be overwhelming in terms of information, sothat a user will not feel lost in the page.

Web hosting provider to provide functionality to view reports on sitetraffic.

User interface to reserve placements for standard IAB advertisingdelivery system, such as 3-4 ads per page.

Secure server-side storage of the scoring system.

System scalable to 30000 users initially, then to a much higher number,such as 500,000 and the up to 1M users.

System to have bandwidth for multiple concurrent users.

System is fully functional in Internet Explorer 7 and higher, as well asFirefox 3 and higher.

System incorporates search engine optimization, such as GoogleOptimization.

Preferred Design Features

The preferred system is an online game to be played using a standarddesktop computers connected to the internet. Supported browsers are IE7or newer and Firefox 3 or newer. It is envisioned that versions of thesystem will be adapted for mobile devices, and versions will also beadapted for linking into to social networking sites such as Facebook.

The web hosting provider will provide adequate bandwidth to supportmultiple concurrent user connections without slowdown in service to anyusers.

Preferably databases are provided by web hosting provider, and if soprovided the preferred databases will be MySQL databases. Functionalityfor regular database backups will be provided by the web hostingprovider so as to ensure no loss of data essential to the operation ofthe system.

Preferred Development Methods:

The preferred Trench Fantasy game method and system employs an iterativemethodology, as describe below.

High Level System Architecture:

The preferred high level architecture diagram for the Trench Fantasysystem is shown in FIG. 2, and includes components and capabilities asfurther described below.

Flash GUI:

This is the preferred graphical user interface that the end user willinteract with to play the Trench Fantasy game as further described inthe '381 and '931 applications. It preferably is implemented using Flashand Actionscript 3. This module encapsulates all visual elements of thegame and is not intended to have any game logic included in itsfunctionality. This module communicates via messaging back and forth tothe ‘Messaging Module’, to request and receive all necessary informationfor the playing of the game, as shown at 1. To communicate a message tothe ‘Messaging Module’ this module makes use of the _POST variable.Messages are received by parsing return HTML or XML from the ‘MessagingModule’.

Messaging Module:

The preferred Messaging module handles the transfer of data between theGUI Module and the Database Server, as shown at 2. The 2 main functionsthis module performs are:

-   -   1. Translate requests for data from the GUI to SQL queries,        execute those queries and return a result in XML format to the        GUI.    -   2. Update the database server inserting any user inputted data        that should be stored persistently.

Database:

The database handles persistent storage of all game data. For moreinformation see section ‘Database Design’.

Scoring Module:

The preferred scoring module handles game logic as it relates to theaccessing and updating of scores in the game. This module communicatesconsistently with the ‘Real Time Feed Module’, as shown at 4, to receiveupdated statistics. It processes these statistics, and resolves updatedscores using internal scoring logic. The module stores the most up todate scores by inserting them into the database, as shown at 3. Thisensures that any database will contain near real time information, whichin turn can be communicated to end users playing the game. This moduleis preferably placed on the server side and only allowed to communicatewith other server side components to minimize exposure of the scoringsystem logic.

Real Time Feed Module:

This module interfaces with the external Real Time Feed Provider tocontinuously receive updated statistics. These statistics arecommunicated to the Scoring Module where game scores can be updatedaccordingly.

Use Case Descriptions:

This section contains brief descriptions along with diagrams or figuresused to illustrate the functional capabilities of the system to takesspecific actions in various scenarios that end users, such as teamowners or commissioners will encounter while interacting with thepreferred Trench Fantasy game system.

General Use Cases: Sign Up:

Referring to FIG. 3, this use case describes a typical scenario andprocessing steps for a new user to sign up to use a preferred TrenchFantasy (Team Owners and Commissioners) system.

Login:

Referring to FIG. 4, the Login case describes a typical scenario andprocessing steps for an existing user to log in to use Trench Fantasy(Team Owners and Commissioners) system.

Post Message:

Referring to FIG. 5, the Post Message case describes a typical scenarioand processing steps for a user posting a message to the League Messageboard.

Team Owner Based Use Cases: Join a League:

Referring to FIG. 6, the Join a League case covers a typical scenarioand processing steps for a user to join a public league.

Search for League:

Referring to FIG. 6, the Search for League case covers a typicalscenario and processing steps for a user to search for a specific leaguein the Trench Fantasy system. Search criteria include option of enteringteam owner email, commissioner email, or league name.

Create a Team:

Referring to FIG. 8, the Create a Team case covers a typical scenarioand processing steps for a user to create a team within a league in thepreferred Trench Fantasy system.

Edit a Team:

Referring to FIG. 9, the Edit a Team case covers a typical scenario andprocessing steps for a user to edit information about a team previouslycreated by them.

Participate in Draft:

The system and method, not shown in the figures, includes a Participatein Draft case in which users can participate in player or unit drafts.To participate in a draft with the system:

-   -   1. The user selects “Draft Central” text on the League home        page.    -   2. The “Draft Central” window is displayed, with team units        ordered by position.    -   3. (a) The user selects team units they wish to draft for their        team (live draft), or (b) the user selects multiple team units        by position they wish to draft for their team (automated draft).    -   4. The Draft Picks screen is displayed and displayed information        is updated each time a team unit selection has occurred.    -   5. The Completed Line-Up is displayed on screen with dropdown        windows for viewing all other Line-ups in the league resulting        from the draft.

View Team Roster:

Referring to FIG. 10, the View Team Roster case covers a typicalscenario and processing steps for a user to view his/her team Roster.

Add/Drop Team Units:

Referring to FIG. 11, the Add/Drop Team Units case covers a typicalscenario and processing steps for a user to add or drop a unite fromhis/her team Roster.

View Schedules:

Referring to FIG. 12, the View Schedule case covers a typical scenarioand processing steps for a user to view the schedules for head to head,and playoff matches within the users' league.

View Fantasy News and Notes/View Transaction and Injury Log:

Referring to FIG. 13, the View Fantasy News and Notes, Transactions andInjury Log case covers a typical scenario and processing steps for auser to view the news and notes section as well as the transaction andinjury section of Trench Fantasy.

Create Starting Line-Up/Edit Starting Line-Up:

Referring to FIG. 14, the Create/Edit Starting Line-up case covers atypical scenario and processing steps for a user to create and/or editthe starting line-up for their team.

View Leader Boards:

Referring to FIG. 15, the View Leader Boards case covers a typicalscenario and processing steps for a user to view the leader boards fortheir league in the Trench Fantasy system.

View Statistics:

Referring to FIG. 16, the View Statistics case covers a typical scenarioand processing steps for a user to view league statistics within theirleague.

View Live Scoring:

Referring to FIG. 17, the View Live Scoring case covers the typicalscenario and processing steps for a user to view real time scoringwithin the Trench Fantasy system during a period when the real time feedis actively relaying NFL game time statistics to the Trench Fantasysystem.

Commissioner Use Cases: Create a League:

Referring to FIG. 18, the Create a League case describes a typicalscenario and processing steps for a user to create a league within theTrench Fantasy system.

Edit League Rules:

Referring to FIG. 19, the Edit League Rules case covers a typicalscenario and processing steps for a user to edit the rules of the leaguefor which they are commissioner.

Add User to League:

Referring to FIG. 20, the Add User to League case covers the typicalscenario and processing steps for a commissioner to add a user theirleague.

Remove User from League:

Referring to FIG. 21, the Remove User from League case covers a typicalscenario and processing steps for a commissioner to remove a user fromtheir league.

Edit League Scoring:

Referring to FIG. 22, the Edit League Scoring case covers a typicalscenario and processing steps for a commissioner to edit and customizethe way points are allocated within their league.

Set Head to Head/Playoff Schedules:

Referring to FIG. 23, the Set Schedules case describes a typicalscenario and processing steps for a commissioner to define head to headschedules as well as playoff schedules for the teams within the league.

Set Trade/Waiver/Free Agent deadlines:

Referring to FIG. 24, the Set Deadlines case describes a typicalscenario and processing steps for a commissioner to define cut off datesfor the various deadlines in their Trench Fantasy League.

Email League Members:

Referring to FIG. 25, the Generate/Send Email case describes a typicalscenario and processing steps for a commissioner to send emails to teamowners within their league.

View League Rosters:

Referring to FIG. 26, the View League Rosters case describes a typicalscenario and processing steps for a commissioner to view the rosters ofall the teams in their league.

Database Design:

Referring to FIGS. 27A and 27B, a preferred database design diagram andfunctionality for the Trench Fantasy system is shown and described.

Referring to FIGS. 28-34, examples of various statistics are provided.FIG. 28 presents preferred offensive line statistics; FIG. 29 presentspreferred defensive line statistics; FIG. 30 presents preferred fieldgoal and point after touchdown statistics; FIG. 31 presents preferredpunting statistics; FIG. 32 presents various miscellaneous defensivestatistics; FIG. 33 presents various kick-off related statistics; andFIG. 34 presents various preferred scoring statistics.

Additional Options in Regard to the Preferred System:

The login function optionally could have the ability to save a password,and include a “forgot password” prompt.

The post message function could also include a “hover” or “click” on theMy League Tab/Message Board. The Message Board could also be displayedin page layout and could be entered directly.

The “Join a League” function is set for the typical scenario for a userto join a public league, but could be set up for an approval basedsystem in which the potential user would send a request to join a leagueon a request form that was provided by the system.

The “Search for League” function could include an option for enteringteam owner e-mail, commissioner e-mail or league name to find a league.The system could also provide for a user to get to the league page froman invite e-mail from the commissioner.

The “Create a Team” function could also include hovers or clicks, and a“Final Team Created” message could include a summary of team informationthat was input and could then list the next steps for the owner toperform.

The “Team Edit” function could also be a button on the “My Team” pageand not part of the drop down structure.

The “Add/Drop Team Units” function could have a “pick from list”, orcheck boxes for selecting within the Roster Page as an alternative tohighlighting the team unit and then hitting the button. Also, thecapability to view available replacement positions could be provided asan alternate. For trading, an option could include a listing of who isavailable, or to enable a user to propose a specific trade. Also,options could be provided for availabilities for “This Week”, “By Team”,or “Overall”.

The “Create Starting Line-up/Edit Starting Line-up” functions could alsoinclude not only the team's starters and bench players, but also showthe opponent's players at each position, as well as performance data,such as last week points, average points, hi/low points. The line-upcould be set multiple times, up until a deadline set by the league.Roster deadline could also be provided on this screen.

The “View Leader boards” function could be named “Standings” or someother descriptive term, and there could be multiple variations ofstandings and rankings in this area.

The “View Live Scoring” function could be set up so that itautomatically appears on the screen after login during game day. Thepage would show not only live scoring for the owner's game, but could beset up for viewing other games too, either on the same page or onanother page(s) by clicking an appropriate button.

In the Commissioner's section, the “Create a League” functionality couldbe set up so that after login, a “start/create leagues” button ispresented, to avoid a need to hover or use a tab. The commissionerscould also be provided with an option to get information on games,rosters, scoring and FAQ's. There could also be an option “to sharecommissioner duties” and then to designate by e-mail others who willshare the duties. Also, the League-created messages could be adapted tocontain a summary of decisions and information of concern/use to theowners.

The “Edit League Rules” function could also include an edit function onthe rules page for commissioners rather than to include only in a dropdown function. Also, schedules and playoffs could be in a dropdown, andan edit function provided, and an option to send e-mails to owners thatwould include any new information.

The “Set Trade/Waiver/Free Agent Deadlines” function could also be in adrop down, with an edit function and the capability to e-mail any newinformation to the owners.

The “Email League Members” function could also have an option check boxto send a global message to the entire league, and the capability tosave all e-mails sent during a season could be provided so thatcommissioners could track and have an audit trail.

Alternate Set of Preferred Embodiments

With reference to FIGS. 35-42 a second set of preferred embodiments willbe described. In these embodiments a variety of trench fantasy league,team and team unit values, scoring statistics, and ratings are createdvia a statistical transformation algorithm performed by programmingfunctions in the system application and using actual scoring statisticsassociated with corresponding real-live sport action. The resultingtrench fantasy football statistics and ratings provide aggregate valueacross, and corresponding to a wide set of actual game performanceevents or actions which are highly indicative of actual game results.The newly created trench fantasy statistics and ratings may be used tomeasure the performance of the fantasy team one a unit by unit, or teamby team basis over a pre-determined period, such as weekly games,pre-season games, regular season games, play-off games, etc.

In these preferred embodiments the focus on a team unit structure andperformance drives the trench fantasy values and trench fantasy teamratings to provide a ratings system that corresponds to an aggregatemeasure of true real-life football game activity and fantasy teamperformance that reflects actual team performance on the field ratherthan individual player performance.

Units, as defined above, reflect the combination and teamwork of playersub-groups who compete in the trenches. For example in a footballapplication, linemen units refer to the offensive line and to thedefensive line. Discrete, special team units, preferably include thedefensive secondary, defensive special teams, punting team, field-goalunit and kickoff squads. In one preferred method, selected trenchstatistics or values are accrued by the fantasy team against apredetermined series of actual scheduled contests of the real-life sportover the course of the selected season. The series would preferablyinclude a number of games that is fewer than the total games in theschedule of the actual sport over a season. This allows for a trenchfantasy regular season and playoff schedule based upon full availabilityof the corresponding real-life professional team schedule.

In a preferred method the fantasy team owner selects a combination offantasy units for placement in the starting lineup for the fantasyowner's team and within the individual scoring period. During operationof the system in fantasy league play, the preferred computer-implementedsoftware algorithm will trigger an indicator alarm if an owner selectsall units from one real-life team for an individual scoring periodbecause this would violate the spirit of fantasy play. Once the trenchfantasy team is set, the computer-implemented system calculates, tracksand displays each fantasy team's points accrued in the scoring period aswell as tracks and displays the competitive rankings within the leagueover the season.

Each fantasy team's points can be considered for weekly public play,head-to-head, or private league competitions based upon initial leagueset-up and are displayed electronically. Trench fantasy points can beaccrued from past scoring periods to track competitive rankings foreither head-to-head or private league competitions.

One preferred complete system embodiment provides the followingcapabilities, all of which may be incorporated into the system usingconventional programming or coding techniques:

-   -   a website portal for consumer or user access;    -   a subscriber database with customer or user care;    -   real-live data feeds with pre-determined trench fantasy        performance values that combine to produce trench fantasy        ratings and fantasy game statistics;    -   information and news feeds along with blog functions;    -   draft and league management for playing trench fantasy football        including:        -   commissioner or other league management for league set-up            and operation;        -   pre-season league draft;        -   team management; and,        -   play-off setup and operation.

The preferred trench fantasy statistics method and rating system hereincan be applied to multiple fantasy sports including but not limited tofootball, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, volleyball, golf,tennis, motor racing, cricket or rugby.

Referring to FIG. 35, a fantasy sports game system is depicted. Thispreferred system includes a presentation layer, and application logiclayer and data feeds layer, all of which are mutually interconnected.The presentation layer includes a trench fantasy website connected to aninternet access that is in turn connected to a plurality of end userterminals. End users such as league commissioners and team ownersconnect and interact with each other and the system via conventional webbrowsers to an HTML, ASP, Javascript and/or Flash driven trench fantasywebsite. The data feeds communicate with the application layer logicserver and database via conventional FTP, XML or other conventionalaccess applications.

The application logic layer of the system may include a database,including a server 100, sub-processes for draft management 100 a, leaguemanagement 100 b, trench statistics processing 100 c, real time scoring100 d, collectively shown at 100; a statistical information source 110,a news feed 120, a private communications network 130, public internetaccess 131, a web site user interface 140, one or more participantterminals 150 a-150 n, collectively shown at 150. The application logiclayer includes a draft manager that provides a Flash application withAction Scripts that manage a live draft and updates the database. Theapplication logic layer also includes league management processes thatperform conventional league management functions such as auctions andwaiver wire transactions. Also included in the application layer logicare the real-time scoring functions that determine fantasy team unitpoints and team scores, and statistics processing functions that produceleague statistics such as team rankings in the league, based on theindividual fantasy team scores.

The communications network 130 and internet access 131 may include anynumber of networks capable of providing communications between theserver 100, statistical information source 110, injury and news feeds120, trench website 140 and terminals 150. For example, thecommunications network may be one or more, or any combination of wireline, broadband or wireless networks, data or packet networks, publiclyswitched telephone networks (PSTN), etc. Further, the trench website 140may be actively used or accessed through direct interaction with the endusers 150 or may function as a gateway or agent to provide informationto an alternate system such as an analytics engine, blog, contentmanagement system or on-line publishing system.

The participant or user terminals 150 may include any of varioussuitable devices operable to act as a client on a network which mayinclude, but are not limited to, personal computers, desktop computers,laptop computers, servers, or any suitable telecommunications device,including but not limited to smart phones or wireless devices, such aspersonal digital assistants (PDA) and tablets. The end users at theparticipant terminals 150, e.g., commissioners and team owners,preferably connect and interact with the trench system at thepresentation layer via web browsers interfacing to an HTML, ASP,Javascript and/or Flash driven Trench Website 140.

The statistical information source 110 may be any suitable source ofstatistical information relevant to the fantasy game played. Thestatistical information source 110 may be a statistical repositorymaintained by a sports league, for example, the National Football Leagueor National Collegiate Athletic Association, etc. Alternatively, thestatistical information source 110 may be a third-party source, such asa news web site or dedicated commercial provider of accurate andrelevant statistical information. The news feed 120 may also be athird-party source of factual or editorial content related to the reallive sport league and game activities including player, unit or teamcontent and weather information.

The server and database 100 may be any computing system, referred totypically as a server, computer or device that is configured to processcommands from the participant or user terminals 150. For example, thesever 100 may receive a starting lineup for one or more fantasy teamsfrom one or more terminals 150. Each lineup may correspond to aparticular fantasy team whereby each fantasy team competes with one ormore other fantasy teams in a fantasy competition. The fantasycompetition may be a fantasy league, a single fantasy game, a weeklyfantasy contest, a fantasy tournament, or any other suitable fantasysports competition. Each fantasy lineup may include one or more fantasyunits associated with a real-life unit as previously defined andparticipating in a real-life athletic event, such as a football game.The server 100 may also be configured to receive statistical informationfrom the statistical information source 110, calculate unit point totalsand calculate the fantasy score for each fantasy team. The receivedstatistical information may include, without limitation, the informationon unit actions or events as exemplified in FIGS. 36-43. The server 100may then compute a trench fantasy, unit score for the trench fantasygame using the received statistical information and applying thepre-determined values for each team unit action or event. The server 100may then total the team unit scores to determine a team score, andcompare the fantasy team score for each fantasy team to determine thewinner of a fantasy contest.

The server 100 preferably includes a database and a processor to performthe tasks previously described. However, the above-described activitiesand processes may be implemented in a combination of hardware andsoftware, as well as through one or more software systems operating on ageneral purpose server platform. The software systems can include one ormore objects, agents, threads, lines of code, subroutines, separatesoftware applications, user-readable, i.e., source code,machine-readable, i.e., object code, two or more lines of code in two ormore corresponding software applications, databases, or other suitablesoftware architectures including a general purpose software application,such as an operating system, and one or more lines of code in a specificpurpose software application such as a customized or commercialavailable fantasy league manager. Alternatively, the functions of theserver may be performed or directed by a human user acting as a fantasycommissioner for a fantasy contest or fantasy league.

With reference to FIGS. 35-42 a preferred trench fantasy football systemprocess begins with creation of a fantasy lineup for a fantasy teamcorresponding to one or more trench fantasy football positionspreviously drafted through the trench draft manager function 100 a andleague management processes 100 b. The trench draft manager 100 apreferably provides a flash application with action scripts than managethe live draft and update the trench database in a conventional fashion.The league management processes 100 b are conducted to address leaguemanagement including league auctions and waiver wire as those functionsare conventionally managed in conventional fantasy football systems. Asdescribed previously, a trench fantasy football team includes one ormore offensive squad units, one or more defensive squad units and one ormore special team units as defined by the league commissioner duringleague set up. Units for the starting lineup may be selected from apredetermined list of units, obtained in a fantasy draft, fantasyauction, or other suitable means for providing a list of units fromwhich to create a trench fantasy lineup.

Once the trench fantasy football team lineup has been created,statistical information relating to each one of the fantasy units isreceived or collected from a statistical repository of an athleticleague or a third-party source of statistical information 110. Once thestatistical information has been received or collected, the trenchfantasy statistics processing and real time scoring function oralgorithm is invoked to calculate unit point totals for each unit of thefantasy lineup for each fantasy team. This calculation is the trenchfantasy transformation that yields trench fantasy statistics and trenchfantasy ratings. The calculations, applications of the scoring logic andpre-determined unit event values to each unit, and presentation of thecalculated score and statistics are preferably performed in storedprocedures resident in the database. Statistics processing 100 c isexecuted, for example, against trench-rated NFL statistics to producetrench league results. Real-time scoring 100 d applies the trenchalgorithms, including the pre-determined unit action or event values tosource data and then stores trench fantasy statistics and ratings foreach team in the trench server and database 100 for subsequent use.

Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described withwhat are considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments,it is understood that various modifications, alterations, alternativeconstructions, variations and equivalents are also encompassed withinthe spirit and scope of their broadest interpretation, as set forth inthe claims. The written description and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will,however, be evident that additions, subtractions, deletions, and othermodifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing fromthe broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theclaims.

1. A method for playing a fantasy football game on a multi-player,internet-based computer implemented application comprising: joining afantasy football league having a plurality of fantasy teams, a pluralityof fantasy units and a fantasy football team computer software scoringalgorithm; said fantasy football league corresponding to a real-lifefootball league; each of said fantasy teams having a plurality offantasy units; selecting each of said fantasy units from the groupconsisting essentially of an offensive run unit, an offensive pass unit,a defensive line unit, a defensive secondary unit, a defensive specialteam unit, a punting team unit, a field goal unit and a kick-off unit;associating each of said selected fantasy units with a correspondingreal-life football team unit of a real-life football team in saidreal-life football league; associating at least two of said selectedfantasy units with corresponding units of two different real-lifefootball teams; said scoring algorithm comprising a pre-determinedplurality of events associated with each of said fantasy units and apre-determined value for each of said plurality of events; collectingdata for events from real-life football games for real-life footballteams corresponding to said plurality of events associated with each ofsaid fantasy units; and, applying said pre-determined value for each ofsaid plurality of events to said data to determine a point value foreach event for each selected fantasy unit based on said data from saidreal-life football game.
 2. An on-line, multi-player internet basedsystem for playing a fantasy football game in a fantasy football leagueand determining league standings in said fantasy league with fantasyfootball team scoring based on values associated with performance ofteam units instead of based on individual team player comprising: apresentation layer comprising a fantasy football internet website, aplurality of user-interface terminals and capability for access to saidinternet by said internet website and by said user-interface terminals;said fantasy football internet website adapted for communication withsaid internet, adapted for communication with a plurality of data feedsand comprising a fantasy football application logic layer; saidapplication logic layer comprising a server, a database andcomputer-implemented software adapted for fantasy football team unitdraft management, fantasy football league management, real-life footballteams, real-life football games, a real-life football game line ofscrimmage for each of said real-life football games, a goal line, yardlines for each of 1 to 50 yards from each of two goal lines, fantasyfootball teams, real-life football league and fantasy football leaguestatistics processing, real-time fantasy football team scoring,communication between said server and said database, communicationbetween said server and said fantasy football internet website,communication between said draft management and said internet access,and communication between said server and said data feeds; saidplurality of data feeds comprising injury, news and real-life footballgame statistics feeds; said plurality of user-interface terminalsincluding at least one commissioner interface and a plurality of teamowner interfaces; said computer-implemented software adapted for saidfantasy football team real-time scoring comprising an algorithm adaptedto process: a plurality of user-selected fantasy football teams, each ofsaid user-selected teams comprising a plurality of players and aplurality of user-selected player units; said user-selected fantasyplayer units selected from the group consisting essentially of anoffensive run unit, an offensive pass unit, a defensive line unit, adefensive secondary unit, a defensive special team unit, a punting teamunit, a field goal unit and a kick-off unit; an association of each ofsaid user-selected selected fantasy player units with a correspondingreal-life football team unit; said algorithm requiring said associationto have at least two of said user-selected fantasy units associated withcorresponding units of two different real-life football teams; aplurality of pre-determined events associated with each of saiduser-selected fantasy units and a pre-determined value for each of saidplurality of events; a data collection obtained from said real-lifefootball game statistics feeds for events from real-life football gamesfor real-life football teams corresponding to said plurality ofpre-determined events associated with each of said user-selected fantasyunits; application of said pre-determined value for each of saidplurality of events to said data collection to determine a fantasy pointvalue for each event for each user-selected fantasy unit based on saiddata collection for each of said real-life football games; and, additionof each user-selected fantasy team unit point total for eachuser-selected fantasy team unit for each user-selected fantasy team toyield a user-selected fantasy team score for each of said user-selectedfantasy teams corresponding to each real-life game for said real-lifefootball league; and, said computer-implemented software adapted forstatistics-processing including a statistics algorithm comprising atabulation of each user-selected fantasy team score for eachuser-selected fantasy team to determine league standing statistics forsaid user-selected fantasy teams in said fantasy football league.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2 wherein said plurality of pre-determined eventsassociated with said offensive pass unit is selected from the groupconsisting essentially of: a first down; a first down resulting from apass on a fourth down; a pass completion rate greater than 60%; azero-sack game; average yards per attempt greater than seven; acompleted pass greater than twenty-yards and each ten-yard increment foreach completed pass greater than twenty-yards; team receptions greaterthan twenty and for each reception by a single team player greater thanfive; team passing of two hundred twenty yards or more and for eachtwenty-five yard increment for team passing greater than two hundredtwenty yards; a team drive including more than ten plays per drive;number of team punts; number of yards per attempted punt; number ofsacks; number of three and out; number of turn-overs on downs; passcompletion rate of less than 60%; and, each one % of pass completionrate less than 60%.
 4. The system of claim 2 wherein said plurality ofpre-determined events associated with said offensive run unit isselected from the group consisting essentially of: first downs; firstdowns made on a fourth-down run; greater than 120 yards of team rushing;every 5-yard rushing increment; every team rush of greater than 27yards; every individual player rush of greater than 20 yards; averagerushing yards per carry greater than 4 yards; every ½ yard averagerushing yards per carry greater than 4 yards per carry; every 10+ playdrive; number of punts greater than 4 in a game; number of zero-yardplays; number of loss of the ball after the 3^(rd) down; number ofnegative yardage plays; team average yards per carry less than 4 yardsper carry; every ½ yard average rushing yards per carry less than 4yards per carry; and, number of turn overs on downs.
 5. The system ofclaim 2 wherein said plurality of pre-determined events associated withsaid defensive line unit is selected from the group consistingessentially of: each stuff at or behind a line of scrimmage, except forany incomplete pass; number of forced punts; number of forced puntsgreater than 4; number of sacks; number of takeaways each 10-yardincrement per takeaway; each touchdown scored by said defensive unit;number of recoveries of the ball from opponent after 3^(rd) down;opponent average yards per carry less than 4 yards; every yard less than4 for opponent average yards per carry less than 4 yards per carry;number of instances of holding opponent yards to less than 7 yards perattempt; number of yards less than 7 for each instance of holdingopponent yards to less than 7 yards per attempt; holding opponent toless than 22 total offensive points; each point less than 22 for holdingopponent total offensive points to less than 22; shutout of opponent;holding opponent to less than 110 yards rushing; every 5 yard incrementless than 110 for holding opponent to less than 110 yards rushing; 4thdown stop; give up a 4th down conversion; number of solo runs by anoffensive player greater than 20 yards per carry; each 10-yard incrementof yards greater than 20 yards per carry for each solo run by anoffensive player greater than 20 yards per carry; allowing more than 120yards rushing; each 5-yard increment for yards more than 120 yardsrushing by opponent; allowing average yards per carry greater than 4yards; each yard increment more than 4 for allowing average yards percarry to be greater than 4; allowing more than 7 yards per attemptaverage; each yard increment greater than 7 for allowing more than 7yards per attempt average; each individual opponent rusher with morethan 20 carries; giving up more than 300 passing yards; each 10-yardincrement more than 300 for giving up more than 300 passing yards;allowing more than 28 offensive points to opponent; each point more than28 for allowing more than 28 offensive points to opponent; and, eachopponent drive of 10 or more plays.
 6. The system of claim 2 whereinsaid plurality of pre-determined events associated with said puntingunit is selected from the group consisting essentially of: each instanceof a punt of 37 or more yards, net; each yard over 37 yards for eachinstance of a punt of 37 or more yards, net; each instance of a noreturn on a punt or a called fair catch on a punt; each instance of apunt to a point between the 15-yard line and the goal line on theopposing side of the field; each yard closer to the goal line on theopposing side of the field than the 15-yard line on the opposing side ofthe field for each instance of a punt to a point between the 15-yardline and the goal line on the opposing side of the field; averageopponent punt return of less than 9 yards; each yard less than 9 foraverage opponent punt return of less than 9 yards; each instance atouchdown is scored by the punting unit; opposing team punt returnaverage is more than 9 yards; each 5-yard increment over 9 yards foropposing team punt return average of more than 9 yards; each instance ofa punt of less than 30 yards net; each 1-yard increment less than 30yards for each instance of a punt of less than 30 yards net; eachblocked punt; each blocked punt that is returned for a touchdown; eachinstance of an individual return of a punt greater than 30 yards; and,each 10-yard increment over 30-yards for each instance of an individualpunt return of greater than 30 yards;
 7. The system of claim 2 whereinsaid plurality of pre-determined events associated with said defensivesecondary unit is selected from the group consisting essentially of:opponent pass completion average is less than 60%; each percentage pointbelow 60% for opponent pass completion average less than 60%; eachinstance of an interception; each increment of 5 yards net return foreach said instance of an interception; each touchdown on aninterception; allowing a maximum of 2 touchdowns on passes; allowing amaximum of 1 touchdown on a pass; allowing no touchdown on a pass; eachinstance of a fumble recovery; each 5-yard increment for a return of afumble recovery each touchdown for a return of a fumble recovery;opponent passing yards total are less than 210 yards; each 10-yardincrement of less than 210 yards for opponent passing yards total lessthan 210 yards; average yards per completion less than 11 yards; each1-yard increment for average yards per completion of less than 11 yards;no solo reception greater than 20 yards; total opponent receptions isless than 19 catches; each opponent reception less than 19 catches fortotal opponent receptions less than 19 catches; each 20-yard or greateropponent pass completion; each 10-yard increment over 20-yards for each20 yard or greater opponent pass completion; average yards percompletion greater than 12 yards; allowing more than 220 yards passingby opponent; each increment of 25-yards for allowing more than 220 yardspassing by opponent; each instance of giving up a touchdown on anopponent play of 30 yards or greater; each 5-yard increment greater than30 yards for each instance of giving up a touchdown on an opponent playof 30 yards or greater; opponent pass completion rate greater than 60%;each percentage point greater than 60% for opponent pass completion rategreater than; giving up 3 pass touchdowns; and, each opponent passtouchdown more than 3 touchdowns.
 8. The system of claim 2 wherein saidplurality of pre-determined events associated with said defensivespecial teams unit is selected from the group consisting essentially of:each instance of a blocked point after touchdown; average punt return ofmore than 9 yards; each 5-yard increment of average punt return of morethan 9 yards; average kickoff return of more than 22 yards; each 10-yardincrement of average kickoff return of more than 22 yards; each instanceof a blocked field goal; each instance of a blocked punt; each instanceof a return kick off for a touchdown; each instance of a return punt fora touchdown; each instance of a return field goal for a touchdown; eachinstance of an individual return of more than 30 yards; each 10-yardincrement of for each instance of an individual return of more than 30yards; average punt return of less than 9 yards; average kickoff returnof less than 22 yards; and, giving up an onside kick.
 9. The system ofclaim 2 wherein said plurality of pre-determined events associated withsaid kicking unit is selected from the group consisting essentially of:opponent average return is less than 22 yards; each 1-yard increment ofopponent average return that is less than 22 yards; each instance of anonside kick attempt; each instance of a made point after touchdown; eachinstance of a made field goal that is less than 39 yards; each instanceof a made field goal of 40-49 yards; each instance of a made field goalof 50-59 yards; each instance of a made field goal of 60 or more yards;each touchdown; a game winning field goal with less than 2:00 minutesremaining in the football game and the goal is made from less than 35yards from the goal line; a game winning field goal with less than 2:00minutes remaining in the football game and the goal is made from 35 ormore yards from the goal line; each 1-yard increment greater than 35 fora game winning field goal with less than 2:00 minutes remaining in thegame and the goal is made from 35 or more yards from the goal line;opponent return average is greater than 22 yards; each instance of akick off returned for a touchdown; each instance of a missed field goalfrom a distance of less than 40 yards from the goal line; each 5-yardincrement of less than 40 yards from the goal line for each instance ofa missed field goal from a distance of less than 40 yards from the goalline; each instance of a blocked field goal; each instance of a blockedpoint after touchdown; each instance of a missed point after touchdown;each instance of a blocked field goal attempt returned for a touchdown;a missed game winning field goal with under 2:00 minutes remaining andless than 35 Yards from the goal line; and, each 1-yard increment ofless than 35 yards for a missed game winning field goal with under 2:00minutes remaining and less than 35 yards from the goal line.